Combination crossing gate and signal protective means



- Nov. 15, 1938. H, c. SAMPSON 2,137,196

COMBINATION CROSSING GATE AND SIGNAL PROTECTIVE MEANS Filed May 22, 19574 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR fiz'zrr agampsow' BY 1 z. @325 ATTORNEY I Nov.15, -1938. H. c. SAMPSON 2,137,195 v COMBINATION CROSSING GATE ANDSIGNAL PROTECTIVE MEANS Filed-May 22, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 "IuullluINVESNTOR yar y ag flsozv 6;. 37 ATTORNEY Nov. 15,1938. SAMPSON2,137,196

couBmK'r IoNpRdssINe GATE AND SIGNAL PROTECTIVE MEANS "1 I Filed May 22,195'? 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 AICZPOWEE SUPP TO TRACK r-| r fi Pan :72 supp;mum mo; REM rs l l I l ir l I 19 5 i 04! l I I 43 i 1e INVENTORATTCIJRNEY H. C. SAMPSON Nov. 15, 1938.

o, COMBINATION CROSSING GATE AND SIGNAL PROTECTIVE MEANS 4 Sheets-SheetFiled May 22, 1937 A'QPaWERSUfi/ y INVENTOR E 27?; gam fifiazy/ p m.(flaw ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 15, 1 938 amass CormmATIoN cRossING GATEAND "NAL PROTECTIVE MEANS 7 Harry G. Sampson,"l 3loom ington, fApplication May 22,1937: Serial No. 1441131 8 Claims. (01. 246-430) Thisinvention relates to protective. means for a highway railroad crossing.

In the past, many mechanisms have been pro.- posed for the purpose ofprotecting traffic at railroad crossings. Among such mechanisms arefound gates which are lowered across the high-\ way either manually orby electromotive power, audible signals such as bells, visual signals:in

the shape of warning words sometimes made up a of reflecting unitsadapted to be lighted at night by approaching vehicles, or by flashingsignal lights; or combinations of both audible and visual signals. 1

The various railroads and many State and inter-state commercecommissions have given much attention to the elimination and/orprotection of grade crossings, and the U. S. Government has furnishedlarge sums of money which have been and are being devoted to thecomplete elimination of dangerous grade crossings, and protectingothers. In many cases where the elimination of grade crossings isimpractical or immediately impossible, standard types of warning signalshave been and are being installed as fast as possible, but it has beenfound that even after these audible and/or visual warnings V and signalshave been installed, serious accidents have occurred at these samecrossings.

After many years of close association with and study of this matter, Ihave worked out what now seems to be a solution of this highly importantand vexatious problem. Thus the object of my present invention may begenerally stated as that of bringing about anew combination ofmechanisms which will make the venexed drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front view of the track side of my combined crossing gateand signal device, the

crossing gate being shown in clearposition, the extremity of the gatebeing set beside the heel portion of the gate in order to, get the viewon the drawing. x I

Figure 2 is a view of Figure l,'looking from right to left. i

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, but from sic s ei s estmidt q Tis i f i9? stal fi fqt a hi hwayrailroadcrossing.

Figure 16 is a diagram ofjthe control-apparatus I used inconnectionfwiththestructur orlFig'ujres 1 to {inclusive}thepart'sbeingfinnormal clear Figure 7 ,isj a fc iiagram similar toFigurefi, but showing the'gateand signal devices in part of theircycleofbperationQ j Referring nowfto the. detail herein like numbersrefer tocorre'spondirig partsin the various Vl6WS,'| isfa'f sta ndardusually referred to as a mast, h-aVing'a base Z usually fastened to aconcretefoundationl The rnast i carries the usual warning sign 3ffastened thereto in any satisfactory manner a's by U fbolts' I. The sign3 has depicted thereon awarning caption such as stop" or stop o n redsignal ",'the l'ettershof which are made up of small light refiecting"units 5. Also, .the mast carries an additionali'sign 6 fastenedthereto'by the same type of U-bolts 4 and having the number offtracksdesignated thereon, indicating .the number of tracks being protected bythe'crossing signal, these designations being made up of similariunits'5'. The

,mast also carries arms land 8 having the'words railroad crossing?thereon, the letters of the words being made up'of the same devices 5heretoforereferred to, At the top of the mast l is positioned anelectrically operatedbell or gong G. 'This mastalso carries asatisfactory fastening means 9 for supporting lights l0 and H, eachhaving a hood I! and a back-ground disc I3.

Toward the base of the mast l is an'attachment member supporting a box.or container l5 within which are carried operating means for the gate.The gate comprises a heel or base portion forming amounting plate l6which may be made of a suitable piece of material, 'such as steeL-ofproper thickness, to which is fastened, as'by bolts I], a hubcasting orbearing support l 8 '-to receive a shaft l9 extending from the box- 15.Preferably, the mounting plate lfih'aii-fas -f tory manner a'sby rivets20, pairs of spacedangle irons 2| and 2 2,'between which, and chop-.tened thereto, on opposite sides, in any ,s'atisf'a'o posite sides ofthe plate I6, is positioned the end of a gate arm 2'which.is preferablycomposed at this .end of-ltwo boards 24 and 25 located on oppositesides'of the mounting plate I6,and 'be-' tween the respective angleirons 2i and 21, and bolted to the plate It by suitable bolts 20. Aswill be seen by reference to Figures 1 and 2, the boards 24 and 25 taperfrom the mounting plate it toward the end of the arm, the boardsterminating at a point 21. I P

Extendingbetween the outer ends of the arm members 24 and 25, is asingle board 23, being fastened. between the ends oflthe boards 24 and25 as by bolts 23. Intermediate the ends of the arm members 24 and (is aspacing block 30 held in position by bolts IL This gives an armconstruction'which is relatively light, yet sturdy, theidea being thatif a motor vehicle should hit it when it is iii-lowered position, thearm will break off without damage to the mounting plate oroperatingmechanism. Mounted on the arm 23, are a, plurality of lamps..32, 33 and 34, preferably of light-weight construction, such asaluminum. The lamps 32, 33 and 34 are preferably provided on oppositesides with optical type of red lenses of suitable diameter which I havefound, in practice, to be approximately three inches, so that the lampscan be seen from both directions on the highway. In my present system ofsafety protection, I prefer to make the arms 23 of a length which willnot quite reach the center of the highway, but which is long enough toblock the lane or lanes of approaching traffic, as is indicated inFigure 5, which shows two signal structures erected on opposite sides ofthe railroad, on the approach side of the track only, whereby highwayvehicles which should happen to pass the gate arm, just as it is beinglowered, can proceed across the tracks, as they are not blocked fromleaving the tracks, since there is no combination signal and gate arm onthe far side of the tracks for the tramp lane or lanes in which thevehicle is traveling. As will be pointed out later, the timing is suchthat should a vehicle just barely get by the signal and gate as the gatearm is descending, there is sufllcient time period before the trainreaches the crossing for the vehicleto proceed over the tracks, therebeing no gate on the leaving side, as just described.

It may also be mentioned, by reference to Figure 5, that should for anyreason the gates be left down, with no train approaching, due to powerfailure or other causes, the driver maybe able to drive around the endof the gate arm, provided, of course, that the central part of thehighway is available for driving purposes; that is to say, a highway inwhich the traffic is not divided.

The gate arm on eachside is preferably painted in diagonal stripes ofred and white, or black and white, in which case each of the blackstripes has thereon a' diagonal row of a plurality of lightreflectingbuttons 5, similar to. those previously referred to.

The mounting plate It, carrying the gate arm 23, has an arm 35 having aslot 36 therein to receive a bolt 31 used to fasten weights 38, one oneach side of the plate IB for counter-balancing the arm. By adjustingthe weights 33 through the medium of the slot 36, a balance can beobtained such that approximately the same torque is required foroperation of the gate arm as that required to operate a semaphoresignal. Thus, in my new combination, the initial cost and the cost ofoperation is held to a minimum because I have found that I can use thesame type and size of signaling mechanism that is now used in theoperation of semaphores, since the turningmoment, due to the weight. ofthe arm,"

is far in excess of'the turning moment due to the counter-weight whenthe arm is vertical or in clear position; but as the gate arm descends,the moment of'the counter-'weightincreases faster than that ofthe arm sothat the result moment becomes less an'dless until the arm reaches thehorizontal or stop position, 'at which time the turning moment ofthe-arm per se and counterweight is practically equal. This featureinsures relatively quick starting of the arm downward when the currentis cut off the holding coil .as

will be later explained, and also insures ith'eglow est torque whenstarting the arm upward on application of current to the motor to raisethe arm. Furthermore, the high turning torque at the start of thearmfrom clear position rapidly turns the motor in, reverse direction andgenerates a counter E. M. F. which quickly produces a snubbing action atthe start, as will be later explained. Stated in another way, thecounter-weight is so positioned that the gate arm falls rapidly for thefirst few degrees, such as the order of five, and then at practicallyconstant speed after the snubbing action takes effect as the motor picksup in speed. The gearing itself also applies a certain snubbing action.

The motor, shown at M, in Figures 6 and 7, is geared through a train ofgears to a quadrant 39 carried by the operating shaft IS, a slip-clutch40 being used either between the last pinion 4i and its associatedgear42, or at any other point in the gear train, the object of which will belater pointed out.

The mast I has fastened thereto an arm 43 carrying a U-shaped stirrup orsupport 44 which is adapted to receive the end of the arm 23 when instop position. While the outer end of the gate arm may be provided witha swinging strut or support to engage the surface of the roadway whenthe gate arm is in stop position, I have not found it necessary to usethis.

Coming now to the operation of my combination gate and signal mechanism,and referring first to Figure 6, in which the gate arm 23 is in clearposition, it will be seen that the coil of the track relay T is normallyenergized; that is to say, it operates on a closed circuit so that thecontact 45 is normally closed when no train is approaching the crossing.This passes current from the battery B through the slow-release relay Sand the common return wire R, back to the battery, thus holding therelay S so that the contacts 46 and 41 are closed while the contact 48is open.

Another circuit may be traced from the battery B through the contact 49and conductor 50 to the hold-clear magnet HC. Associated with the HCmagnet is a pawl i and ratchet wheel 52 carried on the shaft of themotor M, and as indicated, the pawl and ratchet are locked so that themotor shaft cannot turn, andv likewise the gears connected thereto, thusholding the gate arm 23 in clear position. 'It will be'observed that aparallel circuit through the conductor 53, through the contact 41, isprovided to the conductor 50, the reasons for which will be laterpointed out. Itwill also be observed that the conductor 50 passescurrent to the conductor 54 leading to the motor, but the motor circuitthrough the conductor 55 is open at the controller rings c4, 05, itbeing understood that all the controller rings 01 to 05 inclusive arecarried on or directly operated at the same speed of rotation as theshaft I9 carrying the-gate arm 23.

Assuming now that a train is approaching the crossing at which the gateand. signal mechanism is installed, as soon as the train enters theblock,

, the relay T is short-circuited and thereby delay T closes the contact56 and currentpasses through relay D, which has aslow pickup as well asa slow release-through the contact 46 to the common return R." 'Therelay D'will therefore closed as in Figure 6. De-energizatio'n of the reoperate to close the contact 51 before the contacts" about to descend.

46 and 41 are opened so that current will'still be applied from thebattery 3 to the contact 51 and conductor 50, through the HC magnet.thereby holding the gate arm in clear position. When the contact 58 isclosed, current is applied through the conductor 59 (see Figure 6) tothe controller ring 03 and through the bell or gong G to the commonreturn R. The gong starts ringing at once to give the vehicle trafiic awarning and an opportunity to proceed rapidly past the gate and signalcombination, or to stop before reaching the signal, depending on thespeed at which the vehicle is traveling, and its position at the timethe bell starts to ring.

When the contact 60 is closed simultaneously (see Figure 7) with theclosing of contact 56, current is also applied to the conductor GI andpasses through fiashing-relay-control winding 62, causing contact arm 63to alternately contact with the contacts 64 and 65, thereby alternatelypassing current from the winding H of a power supply transformer, havinga primary 1!, through the contact 69 of power-off relay 10, throughconductor 68, contact 61 and conductor 66, to the contact arm 63; thencethrough the contacts 64 and 65, alternately through the lights l0 and H,causing them to flash in accordance with the energization of thewindings 62 and I3, which are alternately energized through the contacts11 and I8 as the contact arm 19 alternately contacts therewith. At thesame time, the contact arm 80 alternately closes circuits through thecontacts 8| and 82, with the lamps 32 and 33 on the gate arm 23,flashing these two lamps practically simultaneously with the flashing oflamps I0 and H.

Thus an audible and visual signal is transmitted to warn an approachinghighway driver that a train is approaching and that the gate is Afterthe contact-45 is opened, the'slow-release relay S opens the contacts 46and 41, after a predetermined'time, at the same time closing contact 48,thereby placing a short circuit acrossthe relay D which further assistsin slowing up the release of this relay. The actual release time of therelay S is greater by a fraction of a second than the pickup time ofrelay D, so that the contact 51 is closed before the front contacts 46and 41 are opened, which holds the HC magnet still h in locked position.I

After the contact 46 is opened, the relay D reanism at the time thesignals are started current is passed through the contact 61, conductor6t, conductor 15, conductor 16, to the lamp 34 on the end of the arm.This lamp then burns. steadily as long as the track relay T isde-energlaed.

This time delay in starting the gate descending, after the'gong hasstarted ringing, and the lights before the gate obstructs the highway,assuming l0, H, 32 and-33 started flashing, gives the driver of avehicle sufiicient time-to get across the track that he is in closeproximity to the signal mechinto operation.

As soon as the gate arm 23 starts to move downwardly in the mannerheretofore explained, the controller rings, which are carried in the boxl6 and mounted on theishaft 19, or mounted soas to be driven by theshaft l9 at the ,same speed .of rotation thereof, start to turn in,thedirectionof the arrow (see Figure 6). The controller, rings c1, 02close circuits, which are normally open as I indicated, after the armmovesapproximately five degrees in its downward course, therebycompleting the following circuits: 1: j; First, a parallel circuitaround't econtactfl;

and second a parallel circuitaround/the contact 80, for reasons whichwill=be later explained.

The-controller ringca holds the circuit tih'rough thegong Gapproximately 88 degrees oLdownward movement of the arm; 23,.,and-thusthe controller ring 03 opensthis circuit by way of the.

gap 83, about two degrees before the gate arm reaches the stop position.This stops .thegong G from ringing, since the ringing mightbeobjectionable should the arm 23,;by a failurev of power or. some otherreason, he held ,in stop position,

which would make the continuous ringing of the gong very objectionablewhere thesi'gnals are placed near habitation. It will also beuncticed,from Figure 6,-that the contacts at the controller rings 04 and 05 willbe closed in about one or two degrees of downward movement of the gatearm from clear position, thereby establishing a circuit from the motorthrough the conductor 55, whereby the motor will be ready ,to, functionwhen current is-subsequently applied to the conconductor 55 and controlringscr andcs (see Figure 7), the motor at once starts into operation,and through the gear reduction, the arm 23 is turned to upright or clearposition, it being understood that in the rotation of the motor, the

pawl 5| slides over the teeth ofthe ratchet wheel 52, which will thenturn in thedirection of the arrows in Figure '7.

Similarly, the controller rings 01, C2 and C3 are returnedt6"'the'position indicated in Figure '6,

c2 do not open the circuit through the lights until about five degreesbefore the arm reaches its vertical onclear position, thus keeping thesignals in operation until the gate no longer obstructs the highway.

When the gate arm reaches approximately 89 degrees in its upward turningmovement, the

ready for thenext cycle of operation, but in this return movement, thecontacts on the rings 01 and conductor 55 at the gaps 84, buttliemomentum on wire 54, the current cannot flow through the rectifierand must therefore flow through the of the arm will carry it the rest ofthe way to full clear position, where it will beheld by the HC magnet towhich current will be suppliedbythe closure of tincontact 41;

Itmay mentioned that the snubber 85 may be. in the form of a single-waverectifier so that when positive battery is flowing toward the motormotor. When the motor is acting as a generator in the downward movementof the gate arm, then the polarity is reversed and the positive energygenerated will be in reverse direction from-the motor, and the rectifieror valve will permit current to flow therethrough, thus short-circuitingthe motor which is then being operated by the gate arm as a generator.

As an alternative, a pair of normally open contacts may be bridgedacross the motor terminals and closed by the pawl 5| when it is releasedby the HC magnet.

It may also be remarked that the clutch 40, beingof the slip type, isadjusted so that should the gate arm become caught on the ascent,

whereby it could not be raised to a point where the controller orcircuit breaker would cut off the motor, the clutch will slip and allowthe motor to turn slowly, even though thegate arm does not move. Thiswill prevent burning out the motor which might occur if it werecompletely stalled.

It may be noted that. the power supply and control relays within thedotted line 85 are placed 5 in any satisfactory housing at any suitableplace,

and the conductors led to the hollow mast I by suitable ground cables,those going to the box l5 passing from the mast I through a conduit 81;and those to the lights Ill and II, through junction box 9, and bycables 88 and 89, and from the box to the gate arm likewise through thecable 90.

A rectifier Si is connected to a secondary winding 92 of the powersupply transformer and furnishes what might be termed a trickle chargeto the storage battery B; but where a steady power supply is available,the relay I0 is used to furnish current to the contact 69 for theoperation of the lights and the flasher control devices F. Should forany reason the AC power supply be cut off, the relay 10 will bede-energized, closing a contact 93, thereby supplying current to theconductor 68 from the battery 13. Other arrangements of power supply maybe used in place of those indicated.

Likewise, a four-pole switch for manual control may be substituted'forthe four contact arms operated by the relay T,- if it is desired tomanuallycontrol the safety signal apparatus heretofore described. Inaddition, the track'relay controls may be varied to suit conditions, butthese form no part of my present improvement in safety control, exceptthe time delay features in the operation of the crossing signals which Ibelieve to be new. I

The operation of the gate arm and the relays D and S, to provide thetime delay feature described, is entirely on the closed circuitprinciple, so that the failure of power, or the failure of any relay toremain in closed position from any cause whatsoever, will cause the gatearm to descend by gravity, for lack of current, to the scend but simplya shortening of the time delay 4 rangements herein described are veryeconomical -in current consumption. The relay S is of comparatively'highresistance, of the order of 500 ohms or more, and thereforeconsumes little energy. While the relay D is of comparatively lowresistance, on the order of to 100 ohms, this relay is only actuated fora period of about two seconds or less, or while the relay S isreleasing, after the relay '1 has been de-energized by the approach of atrain, or the manipulation of a switch.

From'what has been said, it will be readily appreciated that I haveprovided a combination protective mechanism which is a decidedimprovement over anything heretofore proposed, and which offers specialprotection in the prevention of disastrous accidents which many timeshappen to drivers of highway vehicles who are approaching or have beenwaiting for the passage of a train, and who start across the tracksimmediately after the rear of the train has passed over a crossing ofthe multiple-track type. In such cases, a train approaching on thesecond track, is obscured by the receding train on the near track andthe impatient vehicle driver, as soon as he sees the rear end of thetrain on the near track leaving the highway, starts across withoutseeing the other approaching train.

My comblnation protective mechanism, I think will go exceedingly fartoward preventing such accidents, because the gate arm effectivelyprevents vehicles from proceeding onto the tracks until the way is clearand it is safe to proceed. Furthermore, the flashing lights on the gatearm are right out in front of the driver of the vehicle where theycannot be overlooked, even by the driver's intent observation of thereceding train.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the details ofmy invention; for example, the parts l6, l8, 2! and 22 may be made inone piece, such as a malleable casting, in which case a part of theweight 38 may be cast integral therewith, leaving only a small portionof the weight to be applied in an adjustable manner.

While, as has been previously stated, the controller rings or to 05 maybe mounted on the shaft l9 or mounted to be driven by the shaft I9 atthe same speed of rotation thereof, this is not necessaryas long as thespeed .of the controller is proportional to the speed of the shaft is ormovement of the gate arm. For example, in some cases it may be desirableto operate the controller at twice or even four times the speed of theshaft l 9 in order to obtain closer adjustment by having the controllerrings travel through 360 degrees, while thegate arm travels throughapproximately 90 degrees. It may be noted that, in actual practice, thecontact arms 63 and 80 never come to rest in the position shown inFigure 6. The flasher F is ordinarily so designed as to cause the saidcontact arms to remain in engagement with the contact points lasttouched before the power is cut off. This is done so that least will belighted.

In some cases the hell or gong G may not be needed as the flashinglights will give all the warning necessary. Also, the gate arm per semay be made of one piece in place of the two 45 pieces 24 and 25 asheretofore described, but all such changes similar to those aboveindicated are believed to come within the spirit of my,

invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What Iclaim-is:

1. Protective means for a highway-railroad rade crossing including incombination; an elevated mast carrying thereon devices for conveying awarning, a gate arm mounted near the bottom of the mast on a shaft forrotation in a vertical plane and provided with gravity-controlled meansfor governing the descent of the ate arm, additional warning devices onthe gate arm, a motor connected through a reduction gearing to the gatearm shaft and having a control circuit therefor, holding means for thegate arm including a hold-clear magnet, slow-release means forcontrollingthe magnet, a track section and a track relay electricallyconnected thereto, said relay establishing energizing circuits for thewarning devices on both the mast and gate arm and actuating theslow-release means whena train approaches the crossing, a circuitcontroller operatively connected to said gate arm shaft and havingcontacts some of which are normally open and being closed when the gatearm starts to lower, certain of said normally open contacts being insaid motor circuit and certain other of said normally open contactsacting to establish circuits in multiple with certain of said circuitsestablished by said track relay for said warning devices on the gate'armand certain of the warning devices on the mast, whereby thelast-mentioned warning devices on the 'gate arm and mast are operatedbefore the gate arm starts to lower, said warning devices on the gatearm and certain of the warning devices on the mast continuing to operateuntil after the track relay is restored to normal position when thetrain passes from said track section, the motor then acting through itscontrol circuit to restore the gate arm to clear position, the motorcircuit and said multiple circuits being opened by'the controllercontacts just prior to the-time the gate arm reaches its clear position.

2. Protective means for a highway railroad crossing including incombination, warning signals including some of the visual type, a mastcarrying certain of said warning signals including those of the visualtype, a gate arm pivotally mounted in close cooperative relation to themast and normally held in clear position but arranged to fall by gravityand extend over at least a part of the highway, the gate arm carryingthe re maincler of the warning signals of the visual type, meansincluding altrack relay controlled by the approach of a train forinitiating, by said warning signals, a prewarning signal that the gatearm is to fall, means for releasing the gate arm a predetermined timeafter the pre-warning signal is given, means for intermittentlyoperating the visual signals on the mast and at least some of those onthe gate arm, and motor means controlled by said track relay for movingthe gate arm back to clear position after the train has left thecrossing, at least some of said visual signals being maintained inoperationuntil just before the gate arm reaches its clear position.

3. Protective means for a highway railroad crossing including incombination, warning sig-- nals including some of the visual type, amast carrying certain of said warning signals including those of thevisual type, a gate arm pivotally mounted in close cooperative relationto the mast and carrying the remainder of the warning signals of thevisual type, means for normally holding the gate arm in inoperative orclear position, said gate arm descending by gravity when released andbeing of a length to block only the lane or lanes of approaching traflicon the highway, control means for putting the said warning signals intooperation on approach of a train to the crossing before the gate arm isreleased, means operated by said control means for releasing the gatearm a predetermined time after said warning signals are put intooperation, means for maintaining the visual signals during the-time thegate arm is falling and while in operative position and until the gatearm is regate'arm is again held bysaidholding'means.

' 4. Protective" means for a highway-railroad grade crossing includingin combination; a mast,

a gate arm mountednear the'bottom ofthe mast on a shaft for rotation :ina' vertical plane and provided with gravity-controlled: means forgoverning the descent of the gatearm, warning devices on the gate arm, amot'orconnected through a reduction gearing, togthe gate arm shaft andhaving a control circuit therefor, holding" means for thegatearmiincluding a2hold-x clear magnet, slow-release" meansfor"controlling the magnet, a track section and "a track relay electricallyconnected thereto, said-relay'establishing energizing circuits for thewarning devices on the gate arm and actuating the slow,

lished by said track. relay for saidwarning devices on the gate arm,whereby the last men-' tioned warning devices on the gate arm areoperated before the gate arm starts "to lower, the said-warning devicesonthe gate arm continuing to'operate after the track relay "is restored,to normal positionlwhen'the train passes from said track section, themotor :then acting through its control circuit'to restore the gate armtoclear position, the motor circuit and said multiple circuits beingopened by the controller contacts just prior to the time the gate arm.reaches its clear position. i

5. Protective means for a highway-railroa grade crossing including incombination; Sta-- tionary signal means including lights, a gate armshaftysuppurtingmeans therefona gate arm mounted for movement in avertical plane and provided with gravity-controlled means for governingthe descent of the gate arm, additional warning devices on the gate arm,a motor connected through a reduction gearing to the gate arm shaft andhaving a control circuit thereforff'j- 'holding means for the gate armincluding a holdclear magnet, slow-release means for controlling themagnet, a track section and a track relay electrically connectedthereto, said relay establishing energizing circuits for the stationarywarning devices and the warning devices on the gate arm and actuatingthe slow-release means of said circuits established by said track relayfor said warning devices on the gate arm and certain of the stationarywarning devices, whereby the warning devices on the gatearm and thestationary warning devices are operated before the gate arm starts tolower, the said warning devices on the gate arm and certain of thestationary warning devices continue to operate after the track relay isrestored to normal position when the train passes from said tracksection, the motor then acting through its control circuit to restorethe gate arm to clear position, the motor circuit and said multiplecircuits being opened by the controller contacts just prior to the timethe gate arm reaches its clear position.

Protective means for a highway-railroad crossing including incombination; stationary warning devices, a mast, a gate arm shaft onsaid mast, a gate arm mounted on said shaft for rotation in a verticalplane and provided with gravity-controlled means ior governing thedescent of the gate arm, additional warning deviceson the gate arm, amotor connected to the gate arm shaft and having a control circuittherefor, holding means for the gate arm including a hold-clearmagnet'fslow-release means for controlling the magnet, means toestablish energizing circuits for the warning devices and actuating theslow-release means, a circuit controller operatively connected to saidgate arm shaft and having contacts some of which are normally open butare closed when the gate arm starts to lower, certain oi. the normallyopen contacts being in said motor circuit and certain other of saidnormally open contacts acting to establish second energizing circuitsthru certain of said warning devices on the gate and of the stationarywarning devices, whereby the warning devices are operated before'thegate arm begins to lower, the said certain warning devices continuing tooperate after said means to establish energizing circuits thru saidwarning devices is restored to normal position and has opened suchcircuits, the motor then acting thru its control circuit to restore thegate arm to clear position, the motor circuit and said second energizingcircuits being opened by the controller contacts just prior to the timethe gate arm reaches its clear position.

7. Protective means for a highway-railroad grade crossing-including incombination; stationary warning signals, a gravity-closed gate armpivoted for movement in a vertical plane, and warning signals on saidarm, a normally energized track relay controlled by approaching trains,energizing circuits for said'signals controlled by said track relay,gate-arm-holding means including a normally energized hold-clear magnetfor holding the gate in clear position, a

circuit for said magnet controlled by said track relay and including anormally energized high resistance low-current-consuming delayed-actionrelay and a normally unenergized low' resistance high-current-consumingdelayed-action relay acting in series therewith for maintaining currenton the hold-clear magnet for a period after said track relay is actuatedequal to the summation of the times for. action of the twodelayed-action relays, and motor operated means controlled by the gatearm and track relay for restoring the gate arm to clear position afterthe train has passed.

8. Protective means for a highway railroad crossing including incombination; a support pivotally carrying a gate arm, a track relaydeenergized on approach of a train to the crossing, a first slow-releaserelay in a circuit including a front contact of said track relay, asecond slow-release relay in a circuit including a back contact of saidtrack relay and a front contact of said first slow-release relay andhaving a snubbing circuit including a back contact of said firstslow-release relay, a holding magnet for holding the gate arm in clearposition and connected in a circuit including a front contact of saidtrack relay connected in multiple with a front contact of each of saidslow-release relays, warning signals on said support in circuitsincluding back contacts of said track relay, said gate arm beingconstructed and arranged so as to move to lowered or stop position bygravity when released by said holding magnet, a motor for raising thegate arm, and means operated by the gate arm for conditioning a circuitthrough the motor when the gate arm is down, said circuit beingcompleted by a front contact of said track relay when the track relay isrestored to its normal condition characterized in that one of saidwarning signals is of the audible type, while the others are of thevisual type, and further characterized in that lamps are carried on saidgate arm and a flasher relay is utilized and which is included in acircuit established by said track relay when de-energized, the flasherrelay having contacts included in circuits for flashing alternately saidvisual signals on the support and on the gate arm, and still furthercharacterized in that a circuit controller is connected to turn as thegate arm is lowered and raised, the controller having contacts closing acircuit through said audible signal when the gate arm is in clearposition and the track relay is de-energized and other contacts formaintaining said circuit through said flasher relay, and all of saidvisual signals after the track relay is re-energized fol'

